Promoting cancer awareness is important to Molly Lynch, even when it isn’t Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

When Lynch was 13, her mother died from ovarian cancer. Lynch said her mother’s experience with cancer has defined her personal career path.

“It made me realize I wanted to help other people deal with the situation that I had to deal with,” said Lynch, junior in journalism and mass communication.

She said she wants to help families deal with cancer through education.

“I’d like to start a branch of a non-profit organization that would help children understand the disease their parents are going through,” Lynch said.

“One of the worst things to do is to leave your children in the dark. Do not exclude them.”

She also wants to help families who have experienced cancer share their stories with others.

“I’d like to write a book compiled of stories from people who have had cancer and how their families dealt with it,” she said.

Lynch has considered working in public relations after graduation, for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, a nonprofit organization that advances research, education, screening and treatment of breast cancer.

Lynch is being proactive with an internship at A New Beginning Cancer Retreat, Inc. in Elston.

Marcia Almquist, a breast cancer survivor and company president, said A New Beginning Cancer Retreat eases cancer survivors’ adjustment to living a cancer-free life by providing emotional and physical rehabilitation.

The retreat tends to the needs of survivors of all types of cancer. Breast cancer survivors benefit from psychological and massage therapy, along with assistance in dealing with prosthesis due to a mastectomy.

She said people who can open up and have a positive attitude will recover the fastest.

“There is life after cancer,” Almquist said.

She also advised young women to be aware of cancer risks.

“Be aware of the changes in your body, and start self-exams early,” she said. “If you sense something is wrong, have it checked out.”

According to the American Cancer Society Web site, breast cancer will affect more than 200,000 new patients in the United States this year and more than 40,000 American women will die from complications of the disease. The American Cancer Society recommends women 20 to 39 years old have a clinical breast examination every three years and women 40 years and older should have a yearly mammogram.

All women 20 years and older should perform monthly breast self-examinations.

To help decrease the risk of breast cancer, American Cancer Society recommends not smoking or eating high-fat diets.

Regular exercise, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables and maintaining a steady weight are also beneficial.

Studying family medical history is equally important, because it shows genetic tendencies to breast cancer.

Central Iowa’s commitment to the cause will be evident on Saturday when Des Moines hosts 14,000 participants in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

Lynch Veenstra, head of Race for the Cure, anticipates the Des Moines affiliate to raise $300,000. Of that money, 75 percent will stay in Iowa to fund mammograms and educational grants. The remaining 25 percent will go back to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research.

Registration for the race continues from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 17 and 18 at Merle Hay Mall, 3850 Merle Hay Road in Des Moines.

For more information on breast cancer and cancer survival, visit the American Cancer Society Web site at www.cancer.org or the A New Beginning Cancer Retreat Web site at www.cancer-retreat.org.